On The Shoulders Of Giants Almost too much for the eye to behold. Can you tell which is which? The modified King grip safety, squared trigger guard and “Commander” hammer give John’s Tribute Swenson (left) away. The original Swenson 1911 (right) showcases cutting-edge work for the late 1970s and early 1980s. Both guns feature the Swenson top-strap texturing. Swenson’s vintage “barrel positioner” (shown here on the original version) “forced” the barrel into a consistent lock-up position for each shot — after Swenson had welded-up and re-fitted the hood and lower lugs! Today’s ‘smith might simply use a match barrel and carefully fit it. types in many directions. I also realized I couldn’t ever afford one then. How silly I was. I should have sold my Gold Cup to the next person walking by and put a deposit down. But alas, the innocence (stupidity?) of youth prevailed, and I walked away in a daze, and it took me years to get even a bit wiser about such things. Fast-forward 30 years (where did they go, anyway?) and I found myself editor of American Handgunner. Who says fate doesn’t favor the ridiculous? A reader sends me a note asking if I knew of anyone looking for an original Swenson he had for sale; something he had ordered in the early 1980s just before Swenson died, but had never even fired it. Do I have to Continued on page 92 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 49
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